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of the woman he had just beenas he thoughtcomforting. It was fortunate for Alinor that he was a clever man with a marked sense of humor and a keen eye for a beautiful woman. He, too, saw the corner into which he had been backed. Before this crowd of witnesses, it was impossible for him to say aloudwhat everyone knewthat political considerations annulled many more marriages than holy causes ever did. He shook his head infinitesimally, knowing Alinor would understand the signal. This once she had caught him, and he would do as she wished, but she was not to play such a game with him again. |
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"There is no reason of consanguinity or other holy cause to annul this marriage," he said, yielding graciously since he had yielded. "And no fate of nationswhich, although political in a sense is also a holy cause in itselfcan possibly rest upon it. Therefore I can say, and I believe London and Ely will confirm my words, that the king has no cause to ask that this marriage be set aside." |
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"I am most humbly grateful to your lordships for giving me this reassurance," Alinor said clearly so all could hear. "I hope I am a faithful and loyal subject; thus, it gives my heart ease to know I will have no occasion to contest the king's will. I am not sure he has the right to name a husband to me, but even so, I would have preferred to obey him andto speak the truthI could not have done so. However good and devoted servants Fulk de Cantelu and Henry of Cornhill are to the king, I could not have accepted either as a husband." |
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There was a gasp that echoed around the whole audience of men and women. Ian ground his teeth. That was what she had been aiming for from the beginning. Obviously she could not read the king's message aloud to the group. She had to find a way to communicate to them a piece of information that would enrage every well-born man and any woman who had any feeling |
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